


From Vanilla to Jasmine

by kikikryslee



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Anal Sex, Angst, Bottom Louis, First Dates, Flirting, Fluff, Insecure Louis, M/M, Recreational Drug Use, Shy Harry, Smut, Stoner Louis, Strangers to Lovers, Top Harry, Yoga Instructor Harry, back to my roots, but no actual smoking weed, for like a minute - Freeform, incense, just mentions of it, plenty of it, the whole reason they meet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-10
Updated: 2015-08-10
Packaged: 2018-04-13 21:38:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,115
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4538334
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kikikryslee/pseuds/kikikryslee
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Louis <i>could</i> just tell Harry that he was only looking for scents because Zayn had told him to get to the store and not return until he found something that would stop making their apartment smell like ‘the inside of Bob Marley’s underwear drawer.’<br/>But that just would've been too easy.<br/>---<br/>Basically, the AU where Harry loves incense and thinks that Louis does, too. But really, Louis just buys it to cover up the smell of his weed.</p>
            </blockquote>





	From Vanilla to Jasmine

**Author's Note:**

  * For [pygmypuffle](https://archiveofourown.org/users/pygmypuffle/gifts).



> So, I don't actually burn incense, but a month or so ago, I got the following prompt from a mysterious anon (who turned out to be pygmypuffle) in my Tumblr inbox:  
> "there needs to be an "I see you buying incense every Thursday night and think you must be spiritual like me and cue aggressive flirting followed by sleeping together and the realization that you only buy incense to cover up the smell of weed (but you're cute and funny and have a great ass so I'll stick around)"
> 
> After I read it, I thought it was hilarious. Then, I looked on AO3 to see if there was anything like this written. There wasn't, as far as I could tell. So I decided to write it, because, if you didn't know by now, I like for the stories that I write to be as original as possible. After talking a little with the anon who requested this story, I wrote this oneshot.
> 
> Again, I don't actually use incense, so all of the information here is based on Internet research. 
> 
> So, I hope you guys (especially my anon) like it!
> 
> *This work is unbeta'ed, so all mistakes are my own!*
> 
> **DO NOT post this story or any of my other stories on any other websites. I'm not comfortable with that, and I hope that you can please respect that. If you see any of my stories on another website, please let me know. I am also NOT currently authorizing translations of any of my stories at this time. I hope you can respect that, as well. Thank you!**

It had become a habit.

There was really no use in denying that Thursdays were  _the_ days.

Here’s exactly how it would go.

Zayn would meet up for an exchange early in the morning before going to work his job at the bookstore.

He’d come home later that night, just in time for Louis to be lighting an incense stick.

Ten minutes later, they’d be rolling cigarettes, mentally preparing themselves for whatever joyous weekend shifts they were sure to be working.

That was their routine, and had been for at least the last year, since the two of them finally saved up enough money to get their own apartment.

It wasn’t much – or anything, really – just a shitty, two-bedroom apartment in a lame suburb of a broke college neighborhood.

You couldn’t walk more than five steps down the street without smelling pot, but Louis and Zayn weren’t taking the chance of being the ones to get busted.

Therefore, the incense.

They often played around with different scents just to avoid completely giving themselves away, but lately they had been stuck on patchouli, the stereotypical scent for covering the smell of weed.

How obvious could they be, really?

So here Louis was, browsing the scent rack, trying to find something different that wouldn’t remind their neighbors what day of the week it was.

At the moment, however, he wasn’t really browsing, but more staring off into space.

He’d had to work late last night at the movie theater because a fight had broken out in the middle of the lobby as the final show of the night was letting out.

Of course, as the only manager present at the time of the fight, he had to stay until everything had been taken care of: popcorn cleaned up, police questions answered, projectors shut down, etc.

But then, the pizza shop called him in earlier today, and he couldn’t say no.

He usually only worked there for a few hours in the morning and afternoon on Mondays and Wednesdays, taking orders and getting the drivers set up with the correct deliveries.

But someone had called out, and his boss had promised it would only be until someone else could come in early.

So Louis agreed, since he could always use extra hours.

But of course, nobody could come in earlier, meaning Louis had to stay for a standard six-hour shift, meaning he’d worked more than six hours every day for the past nine days straight.

Needless to say, he was exhausted, and really wanted to do nothing but make a purchase and get home so he could change into his ‘smoking sweats,’ as Zayn so lovingly called them.

With determination on his face, he narrowed his eyes at some of the scents in front of him, willing himself to just make a damn decision of what to buy already.

“Having trouble choosing?”

The sudden question broke Louis out of his brief concentration with a shake.

He turned to the deep voice to his right and his own bright blue eyes met a pair of grassy green ones.

Taken aback, Louis focused his stare to further examine the rest of the speaker’s face.

It was a man, one who Louis had seen several times before; actually, every Thursday for the past month or so since the other man had started coming to the shop.

He was close to six feet tall, with dark chocolate brown, wavy hair currently pulled back into a bun.

He was wearing a tank top that revealed a number of tattoos scattered down his left arm and a pair of black sweatpants that were sagging low enough for Louis to see the top of black compression bottoms peeking out from underneath.

Louis didn’t know the man, had never said anything to him other than the occasional ‘hi’ or ‘excuse me’ if he needed to get by him.

But the two of them were habitual Thursday night visitors, and it looked like this was the night that conversation would actually strike.

“Uh, yeah,” Louis fumbled. “Yeah. Um, you know, just wondering which scents to get today.”

The other man nodded. “Agreed. There’s so many good ones that it’s hard to choose sometimes.”

“I hear ya.”

The man stared for a second before asking, “Well, do you prefer to buy scents according to enjoyment or meaning?”

_What?_

Louis didn’t want his obliviousness to show this early in the relationship – not that they were in a relationship, of course – so he had to contemplate his response.

Of course, he  _could_  just tell him that he was only looking for scents because Zayn had told him to get to the store and not return until he found something that would stop making their apartment smell like ‘the inside of Bob Marley’s underwear drawer.’

However, based on the guy’s present appearance, as well as observations Louis had made over the past few weeks, he didn’t think that answer would get him a second conversation.

And Louis wanted that second conversation.

This guy was definitely Louis’ type: dark-haired, broad chested, twinkly-eyed, vertically gifted, firm-biceped (if that was even a word)… The list went on and on.

Plus, Louis hadn’t had any kind of action in a while.

Longer than he’d like to admit, so yes, pardon him if he was currently thinking about laying this guy out and having his wicked way with him.

Realizing that he was taking way too long to answer, Louis settled with, “Can’t I have both?”

The other man chuckled before agreeing. “I suppose that’s not a bad way to go about it. Anything that interests you?”

_Yeah, my dick in your mouth._

Seeing as that wasn’t the most appropriate thing to say to a total stranger, Louis glanced at the scents on the wall in front of him and just blurted out the first one his eyes focused in on.

“Vanilla.”

Vanilla was safe, Louis supposed. It probably smelled nice and everybody liked vanilla scents well enough.

“Vanilla?” The guy asked, his eyes widening slightly.

“Yeah, vanilla. It seems… appropriate.”

Louis was regretting his choice, but wouldn’t let that show.

“Do you like vanilla?”

The man stole a quick glance at the wall of incense sticks before looking back to Louis, his face showing that he was making some kind of internal decision.

“I do like vanilla; yeah,” he answered before extending his hand. “I’m Harry, by the way.”

“Louis,” he replied. He shook his hand and tried not to give off his surprise that Harry wanted to continue talking to him. He sounded like a total moron. “I’ve seen you around here, right?”

“Probably. I, uh, work at the fitness studio down the street.”

“You're an instructor?”

“I am. I teach two classes; well, I just started teaching the second one about a month or so ago, but anyway, there’s an hour in between them, so I have time to kill. It’s not worth it to go all the way home just to come right back, you know what I mean?”

“So you come and shop for incense?”

“Yeah,” Harry shrugged. “I usually burn some during my classes, so I use this time to pick out good ones for my students to enjoy.”

“And do you shop according to enjoyment or meaning?” Louis parroted Harry’s earlier words back to him.

Harry grinned. “A little bit of both, I suppose.”

“Do you ever burn a bit of vanilla for them?” Louis wondered as he grabbed a few of the white-tipped sticks.

“No, I, uh… I’m not comfortable enough with them to be that forward just yet.”

Louis felt his eyebrows knit together as he processed that statement. “OK.”

“Yeah.”

Harry suddenly stiffened as he noticed something on the far wall.

“Shit, is that the time? Crap, I have to go. I’ll be late.”

He started picking up random sticks to purchase. At least, Louis thought they were random sticks, since he wasn’t positive what most of them were or what they smelled like.

“Probably not a good impression for a yoga instructor: rushing into class all crazy and whatnot.”

“No, definitely not,” Harry laughed.

He looked over what he held in his hands.

“Well, I’m off. It was nice talking to you, Louis. Maybe I’ll see you next week?”

“Yeah, I’ll probably be around,” Louis confirmed.

_Definitely be around._

“Awesome. See you.”

“Bye.”

Louis watched as Harry walked up to the register to make his purchase.

Looked like Louis had one more reason why Thursdays were his favorite days of the week.

\---

The first thing that Louis did when he got home was change into his ‘smoking sweats.’

That was a given.

The second thing he did? Look up the meanings behind incense.

He typed ‘vanilla incense meaning’ into Google and clicked the first result.

He scrolled down a bit to see what vanilla was supposed to mean.

“Oh, shit,” he muttered to himself when he read the description.

He backspaced and went to another result.

Louis gave himself two seconds to read before going back and reading one more result.

He let out a sigh as what he thought was confirmed.

Vanilla incense was apparently the 'lust' incense, as it was meant to attract love and increase sexual desire.

And he’d told Harry that he was interested in Vanilla five minutes after introducing himself.

He sincerely hoped that Harry wasn’t up to date on all the hidden incense meanings. If he was, well, this knowledge, combined with the desperate, lust-filled stares he was positive he’d been giving off,  _probably_  made Harry think Louis was some kind of sexual predator.

It wouldn’t surprise him.

Louis groaned, closing his laptop in annoyance.

He sat in silence, figuring out his next move, until he heard the door open.

“What’s that smell,” Zayn called out as he walked in. “Oh, right. Not incense. Dude, what’s happening? We smoking or what?”

“I met a hot guy, and within five minutes, I told him I wanted to fuck him, but also marry him and have his babies.”

Zayn stared at his roommate’s face, his Marvel backpack still slung over one shoulder.

His eyes twitched from side to side, revealing how hard he was trying to understand what Louis was telling him.

“You’re gonna have to explain this one,” he finally uttered.

“I went to get new incense – I got some, by the way; they’re on the table – and I talked to this guy who I’ve seen a few times before. Really hot, tall, teaches yoga, seems like the real hippie type. But he’s so hot, Zayn, and I really just want to fuck him.”

“Objection.”

“Overruled,” Louis continued, ignoring whatever comment about oversharing Zayn was bound to say. “So I’m talking to him about incense, and he asks if there’s anything specific I like, and I just said that I liked the vanilla scent.”

“OK? Doesn't really-"

“Let me finish. He kind of looked at me funny, but went on with the conversation. Well, I just looked it up, and apparently, the vanilla scent is meant to attract love  _and_  increase sexual desire. And I told him I liked that during our first ever conversation. I hate everything.”

“OK, calm down. Maybe he doesn’t know what vanilla means,” Zayn reasoned.

“See, I thought that, too. I thought that maybe, just  _maybe,_ he didn't have a clue. But now that I look back on it, he said that he doesn’t burn vanilla incense during his yoga classes because he’s not forward with his students. He totally knows. And he probably thinks I’m a creep. Or that I’m desperate. I don’t know which one is worse.”

“Well, you’re kind of both, to be honest.”

“No one asked for your honesty.”

“Well you’re getting it,” Zayn rolled his eyes. “You told me the story; I’m going to respond. Now look, if you’re sure that this guy-“

“-Harry-“

“-knows what vanilla means-“

“-he does-“

“-then you have three ways to go about this.”

“I’m listening.”

“First, you can go in there next week and pretend nothing happened.”

Louis made a loud buzzing noise. “Next.”

“Second, you can go back there and apologize for what you said because you didn’t know what vanilla meant. You say you hope you didn’t offend him and then slowly build a relationship with him.”

“Nope,” Louis shook his head. “That’s embarrassing. Third?”

“Third is go there and flirt the shit out of him-“

“-ew-“

“-and hopefully get a date with or fuck him. Or maybe get a date with him and then fuck him. Either one. If he already thinks you understand the background of incense and have made it clear that that’s what you want, then maybe he’ll be super responsive to it.”

“Hmm,” Louis considered the options Zayn had presented to him. “You could be on to something, Z.”

“I know.”

“Modest as always, too. I think I’ll go with Door Number Three.”

“Awesome. Can’t wait to hear what happens.”

“Sarcasm isn’t your finest trait, Zayn,” Louis observed.

“How will I go on?”

“Where would I be without you?”

“I don’t know. Probably sitting around on a couch, wearing a pair of sweatpants and not smoking up. Oh, wait…”

“OK, Impatient. I see your point. I’ll get the good scents going. You start rolling.”

“Now you’re talking. What did you get for tonight?”

“Vanilla.”

Zayn leveled him with an annoyed stare. “I don’t like you.”

“I love you, too.”

\---

Seven days later, Louis found himself back in front of the incense display shelf.

He looked down at his watch. It was just about the same time as when he talked to Harry the week before.

And no, he wasn’t dressed nicely just in case he happened to bump into Harry. That wasn’t it at all. Louis had just felt like taking a shower and styling his hair and pulling on a pair of his tightest black jeans before making the trip down to the shop at nearly the exact same time as he had last week.

Unlike last time, however, he just appeared much more alert and, if he was being honest with himself, way more fuckable.

So be it.

He’d spent most of his free time last night looking up different incense meanings so he wouldn’t accidentally say something stupid or awkwardly inappropriate again.

Now, if he said something inappropriate, it was intentional. As long as he could remember everything he’d read.

While he waited, he smelled a few different scents that were marked as ‘Brand New!’ Louis was pretty sure he’d smelled them before, but whatever.

A few more minutes went by before he heard the bell dinging above the door.

He glanced up to see Harry walking in.

Show time.

He put down the Strawberry stick he’d been holding in his hand and picked up Mastic and Mint, holding one in each hand.

He looked between them, acting like he was trying to make a choice.

“You still can’t make a decision?”

“Harry!” Louis smiled excitedly. “How are you?”

“Doing all right. You?”

“I’m good, too. Yeah, I was just looking between these and I don’t know which one’s better. This week I’m  _definitely_  buying for meaning.”

“Ah, a man with a plan,” Harry complimented. “I like it.”

“Thank you. Um, do you know meanings behind incense?”

“I try to. Usually I can remember them, but if not, I can always look them up.”

“Good. I mean, I’m about the same. I can usually remember the important ones. I’m just…” he paused, just like he’d practiced in his head. “I’m looking at these two and I don’t know which one’s better.”

“What are they?”

“Mastic and Mint.”

He turned his gaze to Harry’s face to gauge his reaction.

It was… Well, it was immediate, to say the least.

It was clear when Harry had processed the two scents and the meaning behind them.

His posture stiffened, his breath caught in his throat and his gaze looked toward the wall.

See, Mastic and Mint were two scents that were used to ‘conjure beneficial spirits,’ as Louis had read, but were also two main ingredients in increasing and intensifying sexual desires.

While last week had been a mistake, this week was on purpose. His intentions couldn't have been any clearer. 

“Um, why do- Why do you need them, if I may ask?”

“Just, need some good vibes, I guess you could say.”

“Oh? With your girlfriend? Or… boyfriend?”

“With a guy; yeah,” Louis confirmed. “Not my boyfriend, though. Maybe one day.”

“Oh. Well, I would probably recommend Jasmine, then.”

_Fuck._

He didn’t remember what he read about Jasmine last night. What was that supposed to represent?

“Why do you say that?” he asked instead.

“Well, Jasmine is good for luck when it comes to relationships; or just romance in general. But it’s better for like, mental connections over physical. So, if you burn Jasmine, you’re more likely to find someone that may be attractive on the outside, but for you, is also beautiful on the inside, and in turn, more likely to be someone you could spend the rest of your life with.”

Harry spoke so passionately about the subject that Louis was left speechless. In their two conversations, he hadn’t gotten the sense of extreme confidence in the other man. He didn’t know what to say in response, so he just stared for a moment.

He really needed to stop doing that.

Upon noticing Louis’ awed expression, Harry started to backtrack.

“But, I mean, if you’re looking between Mastic and Mint, then maybe that’s not your intention? Not that there's anything wrong with that, of course, I just thought that maybe... Um- Sorry, I just really like Jasmine.”

“I can tell,” Louis smiled. “But thank you. You gave me an honest answer. I respect that.”

Harry beamed. “Well, you’re welcome. Yeah, once you know what it is you’re definitely looking for, the specific scent is easier to find.”

“I guess… I’m looking for it all? I like what you said about Jasmine, though, so I think I’ll go with that.”

“I’m not an expert, though. Just remember that. If things don’t work out the way you want them to, you can’t blame me.”

“Don’t worry, I won’t blame you for anything,” Louis laughed. “I’m definitely no expert, either.”

\---

The next week, Louis almost made an idiot out of himself in front of Harry.

It was only to be expected, really.

He got out of work late that day, meaning that he was later getting home, showered and changed.

By the time he got to the shop, Harry was already there, and this time, he was the one who looked like he was making a difficult choice.

“We’ve got to stop meeting like this,” Louis joked as he walked up to him.

Harry looked up, his eyebrows knitted together. His tension seemed to resolve and his face brightened up once he saw that it was Louis.

“Louis, hey,” he greeted cheerfully. “Imagine meeting you here.”

“I know; it’s crazy. Not like it’s any kind of routine or anything.”

“Nope. None at all.”

Harry smiled at him before Louis realized that he’d sort of interrupted Harry’s actual decision-making.

“What have you got there?”

“Um,” Harry started, looking down at the two different sticks he held in his hands, “I’m not sure. Well, I know what these are, I just don’t know what I want to get.”

“Well, what are you in the mood for?” Louis questioned.

“I don’t know. I’m looking for scents for my yoga classes. I try to burn some every week, and when I do, I pick different ones with different meanings. But today, I just don’t know what I want. Usually I do.”

“Oh. Wow; yeah, that is a hard choice.”

“What do you think?” Harry asked.

“About what?”

“About what I should get, silly. Were you paying attention?”

Of course he had been.

He’d been listening to every word Harry had said. That didn’t mean he could respond to a question about it, though.

“Yeah, I was paying attention.”

“So… What do you think?”

_Fuck. Louis wasn’t ready for this. He could barely remember his own address and cell phone number; how was he supposed to remember enough meanings of incense to make an actual recommendation?_

“Uh… What are your choices?”

_Good question, Louis._

Harry shrugged. “I don’t know. I’m open to anything, really.”

_Well that doesn’t fucking help me, Harold._

“Oh. No pressure, then.”

Harry smiled, but didn’t say anything else.

“Well… What did you use last week?”

_Good one._

“Last week, I did Ginseng Root.”

_What the fuck?_

“Oh. I’ve never used that before.”

_It wasn’t a lie._

“Ginseng Root is mostly used to keep negative or evil spirits at bay,” Harry explained. “It’s for protection.”

“Hmm…” Louis pretended to ponder, when in reality, he was freaking the fuck out. Harry was looking at him like he genuinely expected a response, and Louis didn’t know what to tell him.

He looked over the wall in front of him, hoping that just one scent – any scent – would pop out at him and he’d recall a secret meaning behind it.

His eyes scanned over all of the names until they finally landed on one that Louis remembered.

“Dragon’s Blood,” he blurted out.

“Dragon’s Blood?” Harry asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Yeah, use that.”

“OK… Any reason why?”

And Louis was ready for this question. He remembered reading about Dragon’s Blood, mostly because he just thought it had a cool name.

“Well, you said that last week you used Ginseng to keep evil spirits at bay, right?”

“Right,” Harry confirmed.

“Well, Dragon’s Blood is used to get rid of negative energy altogether. So, last week, you kind of neutralized the bad energy, or kept it calm. This week, you can just get rid of it all.”

It was a pretty good reason, if Louis did say so himself; even if he did just totally pull it out of his ass.

“That makes sense,” Harry nodded. “OK, I’ll use that.”

He grabbed a few sticks of it.

“Thanks, Louis.”

“You’re welcome. Glad I could help; usually I’m not that good with recommending incense.”

_Again. Not a lie._

“Well, you were really good tonight. I appreciate it.”

“You’re very welcome. You want to know something?”

“Sure,” Harry agreed.

“The first time I ever bought Dragon’s Blood, I only did it because I thought it was a cool name,” Louis admitted.

“You’re kidding,” Harry laughed.

“Not at all. Everything else has names like Lavender and Sage and Heather and Rosemary… and then you have Dragon’s Blood. It was definitely an eye catcher, I’ll tell you that.”

“I can understand that. I can’t think of anything else with a strange name off the top of my head.”

“See?” Louis grinned. “It’s a challenge.”

Harry laughed again before he glanced at the clock on the wall.

“Damn; I have to go. I need to go get set up for class. But, maybe I’ll see you next week?”

“Definitely.”

Harry waved and walked up to the register.

Louis breathed a sigh of relief, mentally patting himself on the back for whatever he’d said.

He was very thankful for his ability to remember things for stupid reasons.

\---

Three weeks after officially meeting Harry, Louis decided to get aggressive.

Well, not super aggressive, since he didn’t want to scare him off, but definitely more than the “Oh, fancy running into you here!” strategy he’d been following so far.

He looked up the studio that Harry told him he worked at and found their fitness schedules.

It said that there was an hour-long 5:00 yoga class taught by Harry S. followed by an hour-long 7:00 yoga class also taught by Harry S.

He was going to go ahead and assume that Harry from the shop was Harry S.

He planned to arrive at the studio no later than 6:00 sharp.

He didn’t want to miss Harry and have him go to the shop, where Louis decidedly wouldn’t be.

He arrived to the studio at 5:55, and waited outside, building up his nerve to walk in the front door.

Once people started leaving the building with yoga mats under their arms, he decided he couldn’t wait any longer.

He opened the door and walked up to the front desk.

There was a girl sitting there, looking at something on her computer screen, and a sweaty guy with a damp towel around his neck browsing through a set of folders in a filing cabinet.

“Hi, I’m looking for Harry,” he told the girl sitting there.

She glanced up at him, and, realizing she didn’t know who he was, asked, “Were you here for a class?”

“No, I just needed to talk to him. Usually I talk to him outside of here, but I thought I’d just drop in and say ‘hi.’”

“What’s your name?” the guy asked, not peeking up from what he was doing.

“Louis.”

A smile flashed across the guy’s face before he focused his attention on Louis.

“Louis?”

“Yeah,” Louis replied cautiously.

“Huh.”

The guy gave him a quick once-over and said, “All right, come with me, then. Soph, I’ll be right back.”

The girl – Soph – nodded and went back to what she was reading.

“I’m Liam, by the way,” the guy introduced himself to Louis as they walked.

“Nice to meet you, Liam. I guess you know Harry?”

“Yeah, we take each other’s classes a lot. I’m the boxing instructor.”

“Oh, that’s awesome,” Louis genuinely praised. "I can't imagine Harry taking a boxing class, though."

"Yeah, most people can't," Liam laughed. "He's actually gotten pretty good at it. It's really impressive."

"You must be a damn good teacher, then."

“Thanks, man. Um, he should be in here.”

They reached a door and Liam opened it and peeked his head in. “H! You got a visitor!”

Liam stepped back so Louis could enter.

Harry, who had been watching the door to see who would walk in, immediately started beaming when he saw who it was.

“Louis! What are you doing here?”

“Just came to visit,” Louis responded.

He heard Liam close the door behind him.

“Aww, thanks.”

“So this is your studio?”

“On Thursdays at 5 and 7 p.m. it is,” Harry grinned.

“I like it,” Louis complimented. “I mean, I’ve never done yoga before, but it seems like a good place.”

The room was long, with hardwood floors and mirrors on the entire front wall.

Harry was sitting on a blue mat at the front of the room, with a cabinet to his right. On top of the cabinet was his incense burner, which was still smoking slightly from having just been extinguished.

“You’ve never done yoga, before?” Harry asked, offended. “How rude.”

“Sorry. Just never had a reason to, I guess.”

“And you have a reason to now?”

Louis shrugged a shoulder. “Maybe.”

Harry bit his lower lip to hide his smile.

“Which, brings me to my real reason for coming here, I guess,” Louis said.

“What’s that?”

“I was wondering, if… you might be free this weekend?”

“For what?”

Louis felt his expression go blank, sincerely hoping that Harry was just messing with him.

He’d been so sure he was sending all the right signals, but now it looked like he hadn’t been.

And then he saw the shit-eating grin on Harry’s face, and knew that wasn’t the case.

“ _That_  was just rude!” Louis scolded, getting a laugh from Harry. “I really got scared there for a second.”

“Just kidding, Louis. But for the record, yes, I’m free this weekend.”

“Perfect,” Louis said, a little too loudly. He cleared his throat before talking again. “Um, tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow sounds great. Dinner?”

“Dinner works. Have you ever been to Alonzo’s, in Philly?”

“I have,” Harry nodded. “I love it there.”

“Even better. I’ll pick you up at… 7?”

“That sounds good. Um, let me get your number and I can text you my address.”

He went over to his gym bag and dug out his cell phone.

He passed it over so Louis could type his number in.

Once he was sure it was correct, he saved it and gave it back.

“So I’ll see you tomorrow?” Louis asked.

“Yup. I’ll text you later?”

“You better. Otherwise I won’t know where to go.”

“Too true. I definitely will, then.”

“OK. I, um, have to go; I have to help my roommate with something.”

“OK. Talk to you later.”

“Bye.”

Louis slowly walked backward.

He turned around and exited the room, most definitely not doing a happy dance after he shut the door behind him.

\---

Louis pulled up outside of Harry’s apartment on Friday night at 6:57 sharp.

He took a deep breath before getting out of his car and walking up to the front door.

He looked at the list of names on the outside, buzzing the one that said Styles/Horan, as instructed by Harry last night.

After a moment, an accented voice came through the speaker.

“Who’s this?”

“It’s Louis,” he spoke, “I’m here to pick up Harry.”

“Oh, yeah! It’s Niall, the roommate. Come on up.”

The buzzer sounded, and Louis opened the door.

He walked up to the second floor and right up to 2A.

He knocked on the door.

“It’s open!” he heard shouted from behind it.

He grabbed the handle and turned it, sure enough letting himself right in.

Louis saw a blonde man in just a T-shirt and basketball shorts sitting on the couch, Xbox controller in hand.

When he noticed Louis walking in, he paused the game he was playing.

“What’s up, man? I’m Niall. Nice to meet you.”

“Louis. Nice to meet you, too.”

“Hi, Louis!” he heard yelled from somewhere in the apartment.

“Harry’s almost ready,” Niall explained. “So what’s the plan for tonight?”

“Alonzo’s for dinner. Then, if the weather’s still nice like it has been, we’ll go over to Spruce Street and sit in the park.”

“I like it. Get a beer for me, all right?”

“Will do.”

“Can I ask you something?” Niall inquired, even though Louis had a feeling he would ask his question whether Louis said yes or no.

“Shoot.”

“You really like that incense stuff, too?”

“Huh?”

“Niall, shut up!” Harry shouted from the back.

“Just wondering. It always makes me gag when Harry lights that shit, and I can smell it all through the apartment for like, days after.”

“Ignore him,” Harry advised, emerging from wherever he was.

He quickly pulled on his ankle boots and grabbed his wallet from the table.

“Ready?”

“Definitely. Bye, Niall.”

“See ya.”

“I’ve got my key,” Harry told my roommate. “I’ll see you later.”

“Later, man.”

The two of them left the apartment and went out to Louis’ car.

“I made a 7:30 reservation,” Louis said as they buckled their seat belts.

“Good. I’m starving.”

“I didn’t know we lived this close to each other,” Louis said as he drove. “You’re like, five minutes away from me and Zayn.”

“Are we? I didn’t know that, either.”

“Strange how we never met before.”

“Definitely strange.”

They smiled at each other and got comfortable in their seats.

It was only a fifteen-minute drive to the restaurant, and Louis found parking easily enough in the lot next door.

“Hi, two for Tomlinson,” Louis said as they walked up to the podium inside.

The hostess checked off his name and showed them to a table by the window.

“So how long have you been teaching yoga?” Louis asked once they’d ordered their food.

“Almost a year now,” Harry replied. “I got my job at the studio back in September, and we had to add the second class two months ago. It’s been a lot of fun, though. I love it.”

“That’s good. It probably doesn’t even feel like work, then, since you love it.”

“It doesn’t. Honestly, it just feels like I’m getting paid to do something I would be doing anyway. I do yoga every morning at home; I just get to share this with others and help them lead healthier lives. What more could I ask for?”

Louis was left speechless by Harry’s answer. He wished he loved either of his jobs that much.

“Sorry,” Harry apologized, a soft blush lining his cheeks.

“No, it’s OK. You don’t have to say sorry. I like hearing about that.”

“Thanks. Um, so what do you do?”

“Um… Well, it’s nothing as interesting or exciting as what you do. I have two jobs, actually. I work at a pizza place near my house. It’s nothing big. I just answer phones and get deliveries ready and stuff like that. I’m also a manager at the movie theater over on American Avenue.”

“Oh, that’s cool! I bet you get free movies all the time.”

“I’m not supposed to, but on slow days, yeah, I can watch whatever I want.”

“Could I get free movies, too?” Harry asked.

“Sure. You just gotta come in when I’m working. Again, I’m not supposed to, so don’t tell anybody.”

“Oh, I would never even dream about it.”

The conversation flowed easily between them while they ate, bouncing from family life to bad first dates to future ambitions.

“Well, I’m in school now,” Harry said after taking a bite of his linguine. “Next month, I start my senior year and I'll graduate in May.”

“That’s awesome! What are you going to school for?”

“Elementary Education. I’d love to teach like, kindergarten or first grade.”

“So you like kids, then?” Louis wondered.

“Definitely. I love them. Do you? I mean, you have six siblings, so it could go either way for you.”

“Nah, I love kids, too. I’ve been helping with all of my siblings since I was six years old, so I don’t think I really had a choice in liking kids or not. I was sort of destined for it. My mom thinks that when I finally settle down, I’ll have as much as she did.”

“So, seven?” Harry asked. “Do you want that, too?”

“Maybe not that many. I definitely want a bunch, though.”

“Good to know.”

“You want kids, then?”

“No doubt,” Harry replied.

“Even as young as you are?”

“You act like I’m five,” Harry laughed. “I’m 21. And you’re only two years older than me. You’re not exactly collecting social security.”

Louis smiled. “That’s true. All right, point made.”

“Thank you.”

“Gentlemen, would you like anything else? Coffee or dessert?”

Louis looked over to Harry before he answered the waiter. “Did you want to go to the park, still?”

Harry nodded eagerly.

Louis grinned. “No, just the check, thank you.”

\---

“Ooh! A hammock!”

Harry hurried over to a green cloth hammock hanging between two trees. He excitedly kicked off his boots and waited for Louis to catch up.

The two of them drove over to [Spruce Street Harbor Park](http://www.delawareriverwaterfront.com/places/spruce-street-harbor-park) after they paid the check at the restaurant.

They’d each grabbed a beer from the stand and had been walking around the fountain, looking for a good spot to sit when Harry spotted the empty hammock.

When Louis got there, he took his sneakers off, as well.

The two of them sat down on either side of the hammock at the same time, and swung their legs inside.

Harry tried to get comfortable, but realized he couldn’t drink his beer with the way he was laying.

“I didn’t think this through,” he pouted.

Louis chuckled at him.

“OK. Put your cup down and move yourself up.”

Both of them did, and shifted so they were sitting up easily enough to drink.

“Better?”

“I think so.”

Harry picked up his cup of Angry Orchard from the grass below and took a sip. “Yup. Much better.”

“Good.”

Louis grabbed his I Like Lamp before he accidentally knocked it over.

“Oh, wait,” he said.

Harry watched him curiously, unsure of what else he needed to do.

Louis shifted so he could wrap an arm around Harry’s shoulders, and Harry leaned into the contact.

“Good?” he asked for confirmation.

“Mm-hmm. Smooth.”

“I thought so,” Louis smiled.

The two of them lay there for a few minutes, watching the lamps in the trees slowly changing colors.

“This is nice,” Harry sighed.

“Very.”

“I know the night’s not over, but I just wanted to let you know I had fun tonight.”

“So did I. I might even go as far as to say that this has been the best first date ever.”

“Really? Wow, what a high honor.”

“It is,” Louis agreed. “You should feel proud of yourself.”

Harry laughed and took a sip of his beer. “Well, since you have that much to say, then I think we should definitely do this again.”

“I was thinking that, too,” Louis nodded.

“Good,” Harry smiled up at him.

Returning the smile, Louis started to lean in, flicking his gaze down to Harry’s lips, and then back to his eyes.

Harry’s pink lips parted slightly, and he tilted his face up so that their lips could meet.

Harry’s lips were just as soft as Louis thought they would be, and he had a feeling he could get lost in kissing them.

They separated after a moment to make eye contact. Louis admired Harry’s bright green eyes, and he was sure Harry was examining his blue ones.

They leaned back in, this time, in an open-mouthed kiss.

He could detect a hint of apple from Harry’s beer on his tongue, and he never wanted to lose that taste.

He could hear Harry breathe deeply through his nose as their lips moved slowly against each other’s.

When they pulled their heads back from each other for the second time, Louis only pressed himself closer to Harry.

“I like you,” Harry admitted quietly.

“Good. Because I kinda like you, too.”

Harry smiled and got comfortable in Louis’ arms once more.

Louis kissed Harry on the top of his head and looked around them.

All around them were happy people: families with their kids, young adults with their friends, older couples walking their dogs.

It was a calm environment; and, including his smoking nights with Zayn, lying there with a beer in his hand and Harry cuddled up next to him was possibly the most relaxed Louis had been in a while.

\---

Over the next few weeks, Louis and Harry saw each other much more regularly.

They still went to the shop on Thursdays, since that was something that was built into both of their weekly schedules.

But now, their time together included movies, dinners, bowling and trips to the bar. Louis introduced Harry to Zayn, and the three of them, plus Niall and Liam had gone out for drinks.

It was going well between them.

Until the end of the third week.

It was on a Thursday, of course.

Harry’s studio was closed for the time being because a pipe had burst right above his room, while Louis had a rare day off.

The two of them were in Louis’ bedroom, getting ready for Round Two.

They had the apartment to themselves, as Zayn had to work for a few hours before going over to see his parents for dinner, and they were taking full advantage.

“OK, I’m good,” Louis assured Harry.

He was on all fours, resting on his forearms as Harry had three fingers in him, making sure he was plenty stretched out.

Louis loved that Harry wanted him to be properly prepped, but at this point, he just needed the other man to get a move on.

Harry slipped his fingers out of Louis’ hole and wiped them off on the sheets.

They needed to be washed anyway.

He tore open the condom wrapper and rolled it down his cock.

After pouring some more lube over himself, he took hold of Louis’ hips and lined himself up.

Harry leaned forward, kissing along Louis’ spine as he slowly pressed in.

Louis let out a sigh at the sensation.

Harry didn’t wait long before he started to move, since Louis was already stretched from about an hour ago, when they’d fucked for the first time that day.

Harry easily built up a rhythm, pushing in and pulling out quickly.

Louis moaned as Harry moved, loving how full he felt on Harry’s cock. His was definitely one of the biggest – if not  _the_  biggest – he’d ever taken.

He knew he would feel it in the morning, and the thrill of that sent a shiver up his spine.

After a few minutes, Harry’s grip on Louis got even tighter as he started pounding away, letting his body’s natural instincts take over. His thrusts were getting more erratic and Louis let out a cry after a few rough jabs at his prostate.

He could feel his orgasm building, knowing that while their first round had gone on for a while, this one would be quick.

He wrapped a hand around his cock, giving it firm, steady strokes, hoping it could maybe hold him off a few minutes more.

But that plan was out the window when Harry pulled all the way out and flipped Louis over on his back.

Before Louis could catch his breath, Harry was grabbing one of his legs in each hand and stretching them as far apart as he could.

Harry started driving in then, keeping a strong hold on Louis’ legs to keep him balanced.

Louis could feel his eyes trying to roll back in his head and his eyelids wanting to flutter shut, but he really wanted to keep focus.

As hard as he tried, he couldn’t keep them open any more after Harry started quietly muttering, “Holy shit,” and “Fuck,” over and over again.

He turned his head and buried his face in his pillow.

“Louis,” Harry whispered.

He released his hold on Louis’ legs and leaned over the other man.

He slowed his movements before he ducked his head and kissed his neck.

Louis dropped his legs to the bed, keeping them bent at the knees and as stretched apart as he could hold them.

When Harry started nibbling at the skin over his collarbone, Louis turned to watch him work.

He brought his hands up to Harry’s head, burying his fingers in his loose curly hair.

Harry pulled his mouth from Louis’ skin and attacked his lips with his own.

Louis groaned at the kiss, which was soft, and slower than Harry’s now barely detectable thrusts inside of him.

The two of them stayed that way, lazily kissing and fucking, being extra attentive to the other’s wants.

Louis massaged Harry’s scalp with his fingers, while Harry rubbed his thumbs in small circles over Louis’ hardened nipples.

Louis thought he could come just like this, with all of Harry’s attention on what he liked.

But once again, Harry had other plans.

He pulled his lips away from Louis’, much to Louis’ disappointment. He wasn’t sad for too long, though, as Harry bent down to kiss the side of his neck.

Louis moaned and licked his lips, pressing them together afterward.

He rolled his hips up, meeting Harry’s thrust in the middle.

He could feel Harry’s smile against his throat.

He did it again before whispering, “Harry.”

Harry suckled on Louis’ neck once more before resting his forehead against Louis’.

“Hmm?”

“Make me come.”

Harry smirked and kissed Louis again before sitting himself up.

He grabbed hold of Louis’ legs, right behind the knees, and pushed forward so that Louis was bent more in half.

He pulled almost all the way out and slammed forward.

Louis gasped in pleasure, as he felt his body jolt up on the bed.

Harry did it again, and soon, was doing only that.

Louis could feel himself getting ready to come, so he got a hold of his cock again and started jerking himself off.

Harry’s breathing was uneven as he pounded away at Louis’ ass, not giving any time to go from slow, gentle movements to hard and fast fucking.

“Harry,” Louis begged, “please, please, please…”

His toes curled up and he knew he was done for.

Suddenly, he was shooting white, hot streaks up his chest, and he stroked himself through it.

He dropped his head and hands back to the mattress, letting Harry continue to fuck him until he got off, too.

He didn’t have to wait long.

Harry pulled his lower lip in between his teeth and bit down so hard the skin was turning white.

Then he let out a groan and steadied his thrusts as he came.

Louis clenched down, making his hole tighter so Harry’s orgasm could literally be squeezed out of him.

When he was done, he let go of Louis’ legs and collapsed on top of him.

The two of them stared at each other, letting their breathing balance out slowly.

“You’re amazing,” Harry complimented. He leaned over for a rough kiss.

“I know,” Louis grinned when they pulled back.

Harry giggled, resting his face in the crook of Louis’ neck.

“I’m so glad we met.”

“Me, too,” Louis quietly agreed.

“Funny how it was over vanilla incense, and here we are, freshly fucked.”

Louis smiled as Harry pressed a kiss to his neck.

“We really need to shower, though,” Louis said.

“I know. But I’m comfortable.”

“How about this? We shower, and get changed into some sweats, and then we can watch TV on the couch?”

“I guess.”

Harry slowly pulled out of Louis and tied off the condom.

He threw it out in the bathroom before the two of them got in the shower.

They quickly cleaned off, washing each other’s sweaty hair and bodies.

After they were done, they followed the rest of Louis’ plan: they got changed and flopped on the couch, flicking through channels on the television.

Louis threw his legs across Harry’s lap and rested his head on his shoulder.

Harry started running his fingers through Louis’ hair, making him totally relaxed.

_I could go to sleep this way._

Louis let his eyes fall shut and breathed deeply.

And then it went to shit.

“Louis! Light the incense! Let’s go!”

His eyes sprung open. He’d forgotten all about Zayn.

It was Thursday. It was around 7:00. It was their routine.

“Zayn,” he called weakly.

“You have to pick something strong tonight. Like, something to hide any smell. Chris said he gave me good shiiii- Hi, Harry.”

Zayn walked into the room, noticing the two of them sitting on the couch.

He quickly tried to hide his hands behind his back, but Harry had obviously seen what he was holding.

“Is that weed?” he asked.

“No,” Zayn immediately denied.

“Zayn…”

“It’s just oregano. I have to make, um… potatoes!”

Louis fixed his roommate with a “Really, that’s the best you could come up with?” look.

“I didn’t know you guys smoked,” Harry said.

“We don’t.”

“Zayn, shut up,” Louis hissed.

“Sorry.”

“Any chance you smoke on Thursday nights?” Harry asked. “Louis?”

Knowing he’d been caught, Louis turned to Harry and nodded. “Yeah.”

“And you use the incense to cover up the smell?”

“Yeah.”

“Why do I get the feeling that’s the only reason you use incense, and you don’t actually know what any of it represents?”

“I know some!” Louis tried.

“Like Dragon’s Blood, right? Because you liked the name?”

Louis tried to say something back, but he didn’t have a response.

“You know, I’m impressed,” Harry mocked. “Since you smoke every week, I’m surprised it doesn’t smell like straight-up patchouli in here.”

Louis blushed.

“Seriously?”

“To be fair,” Zayn jumped in, “I sent him out to buy different scents so that it  _wouldn’t_ smell like that all the time.”

Louis turned back to him with wide eyes.

“Oh. Um, I’ll just…" he pointed toward his room.

“Yeah, please do,” Louis spat.

“So let me get this straight,” Harry started as Zayn left the room, “you only use incense to cover up the smell of the weed that you smoke every week?”

“Yeah,” Louis replied.

“You never really used incense based on what it meant?”

“Not really; not until I met you.”

“That’s bullshit, but OK.”

“It’s not bullshit!” Louis exclaimed. “I swear. You made me want to look up all of that.”

“Why should I believe that?”

“Because I promise I’m telling you the truth.”

“That doesn’t carry as much weight as you seem to think it does,” Harry rolled his eyes.

“I couldn’t tell you!”

“Why not?”

“Because… Because-“

“Literally, what’s so hard about saying, ‘Hey, I know you really like incense and what it means, but I honestly just use incense to cover up my illegal weekly habit’?”

“That’s not the kind of thing you tell people you just met!”

“It is when the only other option is to let them think otherwise! You didn’t even have to tell me you use it to cover up the smell; you could’ve just said you liked the smell of incense. Instead, for the past month, we’ve been talking about incense all the time and you let me believe that you genuinely thought it was interesting!”

“I do!”

“No, you don’t! This is just… I- I don’t know what to think. You lied to me. About something that’s so insignificant, but you let become important. Why didn’t you just tell me?”

“Because I was scared!” Louis answered loudly.

“Of what?”

“Of you not liking me.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me.”

“I’m not. A month before we ever met we saw each other every Thursday in the store and not once did we ever speak. I heard you talking to the cashier and other customers multiple times about incense and the special meanings and scents and I could tell it was important to you. And then that day that you asked if I needed help picking something, I panicked. I couldn’t tell you that I was only there because I didn’t know what was strong enough to cover a weed smell. I would’ve sounded like a loser and you probably wouldn’t have talked to me ever again.”

Harry stared silently at him, so Louis took the chance to go on.

“After the first conversation, I went home and looked up incense meanings. Side note, I’m sorry for saying that I liked vanilla incense while I gave you bedroom-eyes. I hope I didn’t make you uncomfortable.”

Harry let out a small laugh at that.

“I looked up a bunch, just in case you ever asked me about it, so I hopefully wouldn’t look like a total idiot, which I almost did that day you asked for a suggestion for your yoga class.”

“You really did only get Dragon’s Blood because you liked the name, didn’t you?” Harry wondered softly.

“Sort of. Who am I kidding? Of course I did. I know it was dumb, but I… I just wanted a chance; and I’m sorry I had to lie to you about it to get.”

Harry’s gaze dropped to the floor, where it stayed for a moment before returning to Louis’ face.

“I’m sorry,” Louis apologized again.

Harry nodded once before pushing past Louis and down the hallway to his bedroom.

Louis let his head fall back, staring up at the ceiling.

_Good one, Tomlinson._

A few minutes later, Harry returned, fully dressed, with his shoes in his hands.

He took a deep breath before speaking. “You’re cute.”

“Thank you?” Louis replied.

“You make me laugh. A lot. And you have a great ass, which I’m pretty sure I’ve told you before.”

“Once or twice.”

“But you lied to me, and needless to say, that has me really worried.”

“Harr-“

“However, I do think this could actually go somewhere, but we need to be on the same page from here on out.”

“Absolutely,” Louis agreed.

“So get dressed,” Harry commanded. “We only have another hour or so.”

“Where are we going?”

“To the shop.”

He sat down and pulled on his boots. “You’re getting a crash course in incense. You’re gonna learn today, whether you want to or not.”

Louis had never gotten dressed so fast in his life.

\---

“How do you remember everything?” Louis asked.

The two of them spent almost an hour talking about different incenses, getting help and advice from the employees and other customers who were making late night stops.

They’d just left the fro-yo shop a few stores down, and since it was nice out, they decided to walk while they ate.

“You have to really like it,” Harry answered easily.

He took a bite of his banana swirl before continuing. “Like, my mom always used it when I was younger, so I was around it a lot, and I thought it was cool how this little stick was supposed to make your life better when you burned it. I don’t know, I just kept going with it when I moved out.”

“Even though Niall hates it.”

“Especially because Niall hates it.”

Louis laughed out loud.

He took a bite of his own double chocolate frozen yogurt before speaking again.

“Did I tell you I was sorry about all this?”

Harry smiled. “Yeah, just… You can’t lie to me like that again. Like, it just makes me feel like you could lie about so much more than you really are.”

“I know. And I promise I won’t.”

“Then you’re forgiven I guess.”

“Thank you.”

Harry then took his spoon from his own cup and dipped it into Louis’, taking a bite of Louis’ dessert for himself.

“Did you just eat from my cup?” Louis asked, appalled.

“Yeah. So?”

“I don’t share food with anyone.”

“You just did, babe.”

“Wow,” Louis smirked. “’Babe,’ stealing food… Those are proper boyfriend-y things to do.”

“And?”

“And, I think that if we’re gonna do that, we might as well have the right titles.”

Harry stopped where he was. “Did you just ask me to be your boyfriend?”

“Maybe.”

Harry gave it some consideration. He took another bite of his own frozen yogurt before saying, “ask me tomorrow.”

“Why?”

“Because I’m mad at you. I can’t be your boyfriend if I’m mad at you. Ask me tomorrow.”

“And what will you say when I ask you?”

“I don’t know yet… Why don’t you burn some Jasmine incense and find out?”

Harry started walking, leaving Louis behind to remember what Jasmine meant.

When he did a moment later, he rolled his eyes and hurried to catch up to Harry. “Tease,” he muttered to himself.

\---

That night, Louis did in fact burn some Jasmine incense when they got back to the apartment.

The next morning when he asked Harry to be his boyfriend, Harry of course said ‘yes.’

**Author's Note:**

> Did you like it, Incense! Anon? I really hope you did.  
> If anybody else liked it, leave Kudos/Comments!  
> Also, if anything is inaccurate, or you see any tense/spelling/grammar mistakes, please let me know!
> 
> Links I used for incense meanings:  
> 1\. http://www.ravenandcrone.com/catalog/a72/Magickal-Properties-of-Incense/article_info.html  
> 2\. http://www.wicca-chat.com/incense.htm  
> 3\. https://robjo.wordpress.com/2010/03/22/16-common-incenses-and-their-uses/  
> 4\. http://www.paganpower.com/html/incense.html
> 
> And once more, shameless self-promo! My last two one shots. Check them out? <3  
> [A Match Made in Aisle Three (Everybody Cut Footloose).](http://archiveofourown.org/works/4229958)  
> [Summer Loving Happened So Fast.](http://archiveofourown.org/works/4486611)
> 
> Hit me up on [twitter](http://twitter.com/angelique_lee) or [tumblr](http://www.flamboyantommo.tumblr.com/) if you feel like it! If you follow me on either, let me know who you are so I definitely follow you back!


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